Harry Potter and the Perks of the Potter Pieces
by incarnationofdeath
Summary: A mysterious rescuer saves Harry from Dudley and his gang, parting with a gift of two powerful Potter heirlooms. What will Harry be able to do with this newfound power?
1. The Rescue

_Author's Note: This work was inspired by Percy Jackson and the Game by I'mjusttryingtofindmyway. While the overall concept is the same, that being that the main characters life has just been turned into a video game, many of the details are different. Regardless, it was still what made me wanted to write this, so I feel credit is due. _

* * *

Harry Potter wasn't having the best of days.

It had started normal enough. Not great, but not terrible either. At this point, he wasn't expecting much, so that was perfectly fine with him. Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way for long.

Today was his birthday. It wasn't exactly a secret after the teacher announced it to the entire class. The Dursleys wouldn't celebrate it of course, but at least he would be one year closer to leaving them forever. Dudley, however, felt the need to rub it in his face.

"So today's your birthday, isn't it, Freak?"

Harry nodded slowly, wishing that Dudley and his gang would leave him alone. They bullied him daily, but nobody, not even the teachers, believed him when he asked for help.

"You know what Freaks like you get for their birthdays?" Harry shook his head, and Dudley swung his fist into Harry's stomach. Harry doubled over, about to throw up. Dudley only laughed and shouted, "Birthday punches! I'm thinking..eleven minutes of punching since you'll be turning eleven?"

Harry sat there and took those eleven minutes of punches, although there was a fair share of kicking going on too. There wasn't much else he _could _do except sit there and wait for it to end. It wasn't a surprise that this was happening, it happened every year after all, but that didn't exactly make it pleasant.

The beating ended sooner than he expected, causing him to glance up in worry that something worse was coming. Harry was surprised to see a man standing there menacingly, although his glare was fixed on the backs of Harry's retreating abusers.

The man stood tall and with a sense of confidence about him, wearing clothes that had almost certainly gone out of fashion a couple of decades ago. His rescuer also had what looked to be a stick peeking out from beneath his sleeve. He stared at Harry for a disconcerting amount of time before finally reaching into his pocket and pulling out a sloppily wrapped box.

Handing the gift, at least that's what Harry assumed it was,the man parted with the words, "Take these, Harry. Merlin knows you'll need them." And then with a simple popping noise, the man was gone. Harry was more than a little confused, but willing to at least look at the gift. It couldn't hurt to just open it, right?

And with that decision made, Harry carefully unwrapped the gift and found a box containing two items: a pair of glasses and a watch. They seemed old at first, both in the sense of style and literal age, with the glasses having thin, circular frames and the watch having a blocky analog face. However, they seemed to flicker for a moment before they changed to a more modern style. The glasses became identical to the ones he was currently wearing, more square than before and with slightly thicker frames and the watch turning digital and more circular. Harry quickly discounted the change as a trick of the light. Objects couldn't just change shape like that.

Curious, Harry slid his glasses off and replaced them with the gifted pair. As he adjusted them to where he normally found his glasses to be comfortable, a sudden jolt occured in the area just behind his navel, shocking him to his knees. He curled into a ball, expecting worse pain, but was surprised when none occurred. Slowly unraveling, he quickly crumpled back up when he felt a tension between his new glasses and the area that the jolt had come from, as if there was a piece of fishing line connecting the two. Deciding to try again, Harry felt the line stretching until it became taut. Stretching just a bit more, he found that the line extended as he did, almost feeling like what he imagined those retractable leashes for dogs would feel like.

With that ordeal over, Harry realized that he still had the watch to try on. Putting on the watch quite a bit more warily than the glasses, he felt the same jolting sensation, though this time he was able to remain standing. Now as he moved his arm around, he could feel two lines from the glasses, one to his core and the other to the watch. The watch itself also connected to the area behind his navel, making a sort of triangle between the three. It was mildly uncomfortable, but it wasn't something he could never get used to.

Harry glanced into the box one more time and found slip of paper with that read:

_Dear Harry, _

_These heirlooms will give you unimaginable power, but be wary. I believe several muggles have said something along the lines of, "With great power comes great responsibility." Wars have been fought over these before, I implore you to keep these secret to prevent another. There is a note from your great-grandfather on the back, explaining their use. _

_Sincerely, _

_Nick_

Flipping it over to the back, Harry found a much longer note, written in different handwriting.

_Dear Descendant,_

_I have used these items for many years. Below are instructions on their use. Take good care of them for me. _

_While nobody has quite figured out how these artifacts work or where they came from, we do know how to use them. By the time you are reading this, there very well may be entertainment products that function similarly to them, as some details of their use was accidentally leaked by a close friend several years ago; I have heard of several companies developing products based on these leaks. _

_Regardless, I need to explain how to use them. When you do something you have never done before, such as run, the items create a new "skill." These skills can be leveled up and their use becomes easier. Using the running example, leveling up that skill increases how fast and far you can run. It is quite a useful tool._

_Unfortunately, as far as we can tell these skills are removed upon the last user's death. I also am unable to write any skills down that I possessed, excluding the example I gave you. It seems the device is specifically made for the new user to discover their own path. Maybe you will also be able to discover their history_

_There is also a help section I would recommend looking over before you attempt to begin to use the items. To open it, just hold two fingers over the face of the watch and say "Activate." A screen will appear, visible only to you, and just tap the one that says "Help." I would recommend leaving this screen on all the time, but if you decide to turn it off, just say "Deactivate."_

_And with that, I leave you. If you are of age, look in the family vault once you have put on the artifacts and you will find the research your ancestors have conducted. I wish you the best of luck, Descendant. _

_Sincerely, _

_Henry Potter _

These notes brought more questions than answers. What was the family vault? Who were Henry Potter and Nick? It seemed like Henry Potter was an ancestor of his, but why had he never heard of him before? It was a lot to take in.

In the meantime, he needed to figure out how to use this watch. Following the instructions, Harry placed his pointer and middle fingers over the face of the watch. "Activate," he whispered, and, although he felt slightly foolish, a bluish white screen appeared on his forearm.

**Harry Potter**

**Race: Wizard**

**Level 1: (0/200)**

**HP: 25/50 (10%)**

**MP: 100/100 (10%)**

**STR: 5**

**INT: 5**

**WIS: 5**

**CON: 5**

**LCK: 5**

**SP: 0**

**SKILLS**

**QUESTS**

**INVENTORY**

**HELP**

Harry mentally screamed at the sight of "Wizard." True, this whole situation was strange, but this was crossing the line. A wizard? Really? There wasn't anything wizardly about him.

Disregarding the wizard part, Harry still thought this was cool enough to explore it some more. Tapping on the "Help" button, the screen expanded. Before, it reached about midway up his forearm. Now, it had stretched out to cover up to his elbow. This expansion also had a scroll bar, as the entirety of its contents didn't seem to fit completely.

**(Race) Your race. **

**(Level) Your current level, followed by your experience points.**

**(HP) An abbreviation of "Health Points." Determined by the Constitution stat, Health has a set regeneration rate of 10 percent of your total per minute, which can only be improved by some perks. Avoid your health hitting zero, that typically causes death.**

**(MP) An abbreviation of "Mana Points." The amount is determined by the Intelligence stat, while regeneration is determined by the Wisdom stat. Magical exhaustion is the result of this hitting zero, so do be careful.**

**(STR) An abbreviation of Strength, this stat determines how much you can lift and how hard you can hit.**

**(INT) An abbreviation of Intelligence, each point in this stat raises your total Mana by 5, and increases your smarts.**

**(WIS) An abbreviation of Wisdom, each point in this stat increases your Mana Regen by 0.1% of your total Mana, along with allowing you to make better decisions.**

**(CON) An abbreviation of Constitution, each point in the stat increases your Health by 5.**

**(LCK) An abbreviation of Luck, this stat determines rarity and value of drops, along with just your general luck.**

**(SP) An abbreviation of Stat Points, this is the amount of points you have available to invest in any stat.**

**(SKILLS) A list of your current skills, their levels, and what they do. Skills are the base of everything, increasing how well you can do pretty much everything. **

**(QUESTS) A list of your current quests, their requirements, completion rewards, and failure consequences. You can drag them to put them in the order you want.**

**(INVENTORY) Lists what is currently in your inventory. To put something in your inventory, just wave your hand over it and say "Inventory." To remove something, wave your hand in the direction you want to place it and say "Inventory Remove: [Item]." It will place it two inches from your hand, if there is room. With enough practice, just thinking the words will do the same.**

**(HELP) Shows this screen.**

Okay, so that was helpful. The only part that really wasn't were the words "magical exhaustion." First, his race was said to be a wizard, and now he had mana points and could magically exhaust himself? He would believe it when he could see it.

Harry still wasn't sure he believed this at all, to be honest. An inventory that could store any amount of any item? Perks that magically improved how well you can do things? "Drops" and "stats?" Skills were the most plausible out of all of this, and that was really saying something.

Deciding he needed a test of some sort, Harry chose to try out his "Inventory." Finding a penny someone had dropped on the sidewalk, he waved his hand over it and said, "Inventory." Much to his surprise, the penny disappeared, and when he checked his inventory he now found one item listed at the top.

**INVENTORY**

**Money: $0.01**

Harry couldn't believe it, it actually worked! He quickly stated, "Inventory Remove: Penny," and the penny dropped right into his hand. He couldn't help but think how useful this could be. He would never have to carry a backpack again, nor would he lose anything!

The trip back to the Dursleys' was happier than Harry could ever remember, and he just kept sending things he found into his Inventory. He was sure he looked strange shouting "Inventory!" at random items and them disappearing, but he didn't particularly care. By the end, his Inventory contained the following:

**INVENTORY**

**Money: $2.87**

**4 Receipts**

**2 Napkins**

**8 Empty Tin Cans**

**1 Dog Leash**

They weren't important items, nor were they worth much, but the fact that Harry could just hold them with no detriment to himself amazed him. He also now had a way to hide money from his guardians, so they couldn't take it away the moment he walked in his house. He was curious if he could store food, too. It would make the nights the Dursleys tried to starve him infinitely more tolerable.

As he finally made his way through the door of the house, Harry was stopped by an irate Petunia, who looked as if she might kill him.

"Freak, you were expected back an hour ago! I had to cook dinner myself!" She grabbed him at this point, dragging him painfully to his cupboard. She shouted, "Get in!" before slamming the cupboard door as he climbed in.

Unfortunately for Harry, the door caught hit him in the back of the leg as he was getting in and knocked him off balance, causing him to fall forward. He was able to stop his head colliding with the wall by throwing his arm out, but his wrist was bent backwards at an unnatural angle and he heard a snap as he finally killed his momentum.

He clutched his wrist in pain and tried not to scream out; that would only bring Petunia's yelling. The pain lessened for a moment, and Harry tried to move it only to hiss as the pain flared up once again. He glanced down at it to find it swelling up, and anyone would easily be able to tell something was off. This usually meant he would be locked up in his cupboard until it looked normal enough to go out in public.

But, for once, he didn't _want_ to have to stay inside. Usually it meant some relief from the Durley's, but Harry had these new items, supposedly from his family, that he wanted to test out. He wanted so badly for his wrist to heal, wanted it more than anything before, barring a family.

Harry could feel _something_ building up in the area behind his navel, the same place where the glasses and the watch connected to him. However, this time it felt like a water balloon swelling inside of him, one that desperately wanted, _needed_, to have some of its contents released.

Suddenly, the water balloon began emptying, and Harry could feel as whatever was inside flowed up his chest and down his arm, heading towards his broken wrist. His wrist went numb, though he could feel the grinding in his arm of the broken fragments sliding back into place and then sealing up. Before he knew it, his wrist was fixed like nothing had ever happened. A vibration of his watch followed shortly after.

Looking down, the screen on his forearm now read:

**Skill discovered: Accidental Magic!**

**Accidental Magic is exactly what it sounds like. While it mostly occurs in children prior to learning to control their magic, extreme emotions can cause it to stir in adults as well. Costs 100MP**

**Each use has a 2% chance of succeeding and opening up a new magical skill, but a 98% chance of resulting in a random burst of magic, including but not limited to an inexplicable rash or illness, a fire, or death.**

**Skill discovered: Healing!**

**The ability to heal yourself and others with magic. You are currently a novice level healer, and are unable to do much past healing minor bruises and scrapes. Costs 75MP**

Well he had now seen it. It looked as if he, Harry Potter, was in fact a wizard. Harry checked his watch, finding it to be 9:00 P.M. It was time for bed. It had been a long day, and he was too tired to think this through now. Yes, sleep sounded like a great idea.


	2. Diagon Alley

_Author's Note: Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I'm really bad at time management and ended up spending a week reading instead of doing any writing whatsoever. Hopefully I can get into a routine soon._

_Also, I had Harry turning ten in the previous chapter for some reason, but he really should be turning eleven. I've fixed that now, but for those who already read it I wanted you to be aware of it._

* * *

The sound of Petunia's banging on the outside of his cupboard roused Harry from his sleep. He wondered at the faint blue light that spread out from his arm until the memories of the previous evening came flooding back.

The glasses were still resting on his face, somehow undamaged, even with the fact that he slept with them on, and the watch was still wrapped around his wrist. The screen was still on, although thankfully his great-grandfather had said it was only visible to him. Looking down at the screen, he found this:

**Harry Potter**

**Race: Wizard**

**Level 1: (0/200)**

**HP: 50/50 (10%)**

**MP: 100/100 (10%)**

**STR: 5**

**INT: 5**

**WIS: 5**

**CON: 5**

**LCK: 5**

**SP: 0**

**SKILLS**

**QUESTS**

**INVENTORY**

**HELP**

Apparently his health had restored itself sometime in the night, although he wasn't sure exactly why. Harry realized he had barely even read over the Help section the day before; he was too caught up with the whole "wizard" and "magical exhaustion" thing. Tapping on "Help" once again, he scanned until he found what he was looking for:

**(HP) An abbreviation of "Health Points." Determined by the Constitution stat, Health has a set regeneration rate of 10 percent of your total per minute, which can only be improved by some perks. Avoid your health hitting zero, that typically causes death.**

So his health restored itself at a rate of 10 percent per minute, or about 5HP at his current total. Not a lot, but not negligible either. He also needed to figure out how to improve his Constitution stat, since that apparently improved his health. He couldn't go wrong with more health, right?

Another banging on his door made Harry remember he had responsibilities, like making breakfast. Dragging himself out of his cupboard, he headed straight for the kitchen. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could experiment with the heirlooms.

As he walked into the kitchen, Harry grabbed a couple of pans out of the cabinet and the bacon and eggs out of the fridge. Throwing the bacon into one pan and the eggs into another, he flipped the stove on and began setting the table.

After another minute or so of tending to the bacon, his watch vibrated, and a new notification popped up on the screen.

**Skill Discovered: Cooking!**

**Your ability to cook. The higher your level, the more likely you are to succeed and the more complicated recipes you can complete. **

**You currently have a 60% chance of messing up, and can only cook the most basic of recipes.**

That didn't seem entirely fair to Harry, as he felt that he had been much better at cooking before, but there wasn't much he could do about it. On the plus side though, the instructions from his great-grandfather said skills would level up, so it was likely that he would get better. To what extent they would level up though, Harry wasn't sure.

Leaving his thoughts behind for now, Harry brought the first round of bacon and eggs out to the table for his relatives, after he had stored a few pieces in his inventory for himself, and made his way back to the kitchen, taking note of the upturned corner of the carpet so that he wouldn't trip on his way back.

As he worked on the second round of food, Harry was surprised to feel another vibration from his watch. He hadn't expected his Cooking skill to level up quite so quickly. Shooting a quick look at his forearm, he found that it had indeed leveled up.

**Skill level increased: Cooking!**

**LVL 2 (3%)**

**Your ability to cook. The higher your level, the more likely you are to succeed and the more complicated recipes you can complete. **

**You currently have a 58% chance of messing up, and can only cook the most basic of recipes.**

A 58 percent chance of failure wasn't exactly much better, but at least it was something. Harry did wonder, however, how low the failure chance could get. Could it get to zero?

Apparently he was a wizard, so there were certainly more interesting things he could do, but if he could cook everything to perfection every time, it would be pretty easy to be extremely successful as a chef.

On another note, Harry also mused if there was a wizarding community or not. His great-grandfather seemed to be a wizard, and Nick had just disappeared into thin air, so there were at least two other wizards. Could there be more? It seemed highly likely, as there had to be more than just two wizards, three including him, in the last century.

However, Harry's train of thought was interrupted when he noticed that the bacon was starting to burn. He pulled it out of the pan as quickly as he could, but by the time he had realized what was happening it was too late. He could only hope the Dursleys wouldn't notice, although that seemed unlikely. Hopefully the punishment wouldn't be too bad, at least.

Unfortunately, Harry couldn't stop thinking about what was to come, and completely forgot about the tripping hazard. As he made his way into the dining room, his foot got caught under the carpet and he stumbled, dumping the contents of the plate he carried right into Uncle Vernon's lap.

Fearing what was to come, Harry froze in place, watching Vernon's face as his nostrils flared and his face began to turn purple. Vernon was out of his chair and throwing a fist at him before Harry had even reacted to the initial incident, resulting in the punch connecting and a flare of pain in his elbow.

Once again Harry felt the swelling of the balloon in his gut and its subsequent release, but this time the contents spread throughout his body rather than focusing on one point like it had when healing his wrist the night before This sensation was quickly followed with the feeling of being squeezed through a narrow tube, and Harry closed his eyes in an effort to ease his discomfort.

The tension released abruptly, and Harry opened his eyes to find himself a block away from Privet Drive. Surprised at the situation but relieved to be alive and in one piece, Harry quickly discounted the idea of returning to the Dursley residence. That would only result in punishment and questions he didn't want to answer, questions he really didn't _have_ an answer to.

Realizing that it was highly likely that that was another kind of magic, Harry looked down at his watch hoping that it could shed some light on what just happened. Thankfully, it did.

**Skill discovered: Apparition!**

**Apparition is one of the main forms of travel in the wizarding world, though one of the more dangerous as well**** Its main characteristic is the loud popping noise it is accompanied by. Costs 50MP.**

**Currently, you have a 90% chance to leave body parts behind and a range of only 20 meters.**

Harry thought that sounded like a pretty awesome way to travel, other than the fact that he preferred to have all his limbs attached to his body. The only situation he could imagine using it in was escape, and even then only as a last resort. He did wonder what these "wards" were, though.

Thinking about a missing arm though brought Harry to the issue of his obviously broken elbow. There was swelling slightly above it, and it hurt like hell to try and move it. He couldn't exactly go to a doctor, as they would toss him back to the Dursleys', but he wasn't about to wait weeks while living on the streets to wait for it to heal on its own. Maybe there was another option though.

Opening up his skills, Harry quickly found the one labeled "Healing," as it was one of the only ones there. While in that section, he also decided to check his Accidental Magic skill, as he was pretty sure that was what had caused his apparition escape.

**Accidental Magic: LVL 1 (50%)**

**Accidental Magic is exactly what it sounds like. While it mostly occurs in children prior to learning to control their magic, extreme emotions can cause it to stir in adults as well. 100MP **

**Each use has a 2% chance of succeeding and opening up a new magical skill, but a 98% chance of resulting in a random burst of magic, including but not limited to an inexplicable rash or illness, a fire, or death.**

**Healing: LVL 1 (0%)**

**The ability to heal yourself and others with magic. You are currently a novice level healer, and are unable to do much past healing minor bruises and scrapes. 75MP**

Harry was pleased to find that his Accidental Magic was already halfway to leveling up just from that one incident. He was more than disappointed, however, to find that he couldn't heal his injury himself.

So he needed to find another way to fix this. Using his Accidental Magic was an option, but the 98 percent chance of harm seemed a little high. He couldn't use it right then anyways, as a quick check of his mana revealed that he would still have to wait another eight minutes to use it.

While Harry was caught up in thought, he completely missed the worried-looking woman approaching him from Privet Drive. However, he did look up in time to see her reach him, and noticed that she was wearing clothing that looked as out of fashion as Nick's had.

As she noticed Harry cradling his arm, her eyes widened. "Merlin, Mr. Potter! What did you do?"

Harry stood there nervously. She certainly didn't look like someone his Aunt and Uncle would associate with, so he didn't think she was there to take him back. She also looked about as up to date with fashion trends as Nick did. He answered hesitantly, not sure if he should trust the woman or not.

"Er..my uncle broke it." Harry winced. He hadn't meant to say that, but for some reason he had felt safe with this woman, though the feeling was fleeting. If his uncle heard that he had told someone anything that they did to him, Harry wouldn't be let out of his cupboard for a week. He also felt a vibration on his wrist, although what skill he discovered or leveled up he had no idea, and he didn't exactly have time to check it right then.

The woman's facial expression turned angry, though it didn't feel directed at him. "And is this the first time this has happened?" This time Harry noticed her right hand was discreetly reaching into her pocket and she gave a twist to whatever she had a hold of.

Once again, Harry felt as though she was the most trustworthy person in the world. "No ma'am. He's done it a few times."

She pursed her lips. "Alright then. Can you hold your hurt arm out to me?" Harry reluctantly did so, feeling that she wasn't really asking, and she brought out a stick and pointed it at his elbow. "_Brackium Emendo_." He groaned as he felt the pieces of his elbow slide back together. "_Episkey." _The pain in his elbow receded, and Harry looked up gratefully at the woman.

Meanwhile, though, his thoughts were going at a million miles an hour as he recalled his earlier musing. This proved his theory that there were other magic users, but didn't really reveal how many.

Regardless though, it wasn't a huge deal at that point. Harry really needed to find out who this woman was and how she knew his name. "Excuse me?" She glanced up from examining his elbow with an eyebrow slightly raised. "Who exactly are you?"

The woman didn't look too shocked at this question. "I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm here to personally deliver your letter as it seems that no owls were able to reach you. Usually only muggleborns get a home visit."

Well that brought up more questions than it answered. Muggleborn? Owls? Wizard school?! Harry wished he could sit down for a minute, as he was beginning to feel a bit dizzy with all this information. He should start with the most pressing question first. "Er..Hogwarts?"

This question did get a reaction out of the woman, both eyebrows shooting up and her mouth opening. "Surely your family informed you about Hogwarts? What about your parents, James and Lily? Did they not explain to you where they learned it all?" She looked somewhat incredulous.

Harry had to contain a scowl at the woman calling the Dursleys "family," but was thankfully able to keep the expression off his face. However, it was interesting that it seemed both his parents were magical. He responded somewhat curtly, "No, ma'am. They told me my father and mother were a drunk and a whore, respectively, and that, and I quote, 'your father was nothing but a no-good drunk that got himself and my whore of a sister killed in a car crash while under the influence.'"

That certainly shocked the professor. "Mr. Potter, I'm very sorry to hear that. However, James and Lily were both amazing people, and they were killed by a Dark wizard ten years ago this Halloween."

"Wizard, ma'am? What's that?" Harry, of course, could guess, but it would probably be best to keep that to himself.

Harry was almost sure that the professor would collapse now. "You mean..? Oh Merlin! The Dursleys didn't tell you anything?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I really have no idea what you're talking about."

McGonagall sighed. "Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning then. However, I really think we should be sitting down for this, and in a not so public setting. I take it you do not want to return to the Dursleys right now, Mr. Potter?" Harry shook his head quickly. "I thought as much. Grab onto my forearm and hold tight." Harry did so, albeit hesitantly, and was told to brace himself.

Without warning, Harry once again felt as though he was being sucked up through a straw. However, this time it was a much more prolonged period. He began to attempt to hyperventilate, but he wasn't able to breathe. Thankfully the travel ended in a few seconds, though it had felt like years, and Harry collapsed to his knees. Taking deep breaths, Harry shakily stood back up, using the professor's arm as support.

Looking worried, McGonagall asked if he was okay, although Harry barely heard her. He waved her concern away, instead examining his surroundings. The pair was standing in front of what appeared to be an abandoned building, although something seemed slightly off about it.

"Mr. Potter!" Harry's head snapped up, his thoughts forcefully driven from his mind by the commanding tone of the professor. Her tone softened a little once he was looking at her. "I asked if you were okay, side-along apparition is difficult for everyone, and you seemed to have a particularly strong reaction."

Harry wasn't exactly okay, but he wasn't going to let this stop him from learning about what actually happened to his parents, and about that wizard school. "I'm alright, ma'am. I just wasn't expecting that."

"I am sorry for giving you no warning, but the first time tends to be easier if you are more relaxed. Warnings tend to make people tense." She began to walk towards the run down building, and Harry followed, though he soon paused in his approach as he felt as though the air was becoming charged with energy, along with a vibration of his watch.

McGonagall gave him a curious look. "Come along now, we need to grab a table. It's time someone explained to you about the magical world."

* * *

The professor was still looking at Harry strangely as they grabbed a table secluded in the corner of the room. Harry was too distracted to notice as he took in all that was happening around him. Several people in the room had sticks as well (he really needed to figure out what those were). There were brooms sweeping the floors without anyone holding them, along with several mops. Platters of food were floating around the room, heading for the tables that Harry assumed had ordered them.

Harry couldn't help but notice the air in the room felt charged, even more so than outside. It wasn't something that was extremely prevalent, but it was an underlying feeling of energy in the air.

Noticing that McGonagall was talking with the man at the bar, Harry took the opportunity to look at his watch, as there had been two notifications that he had not checked yet.

**Skill discovered: Mind Altering Spell Detection!**

**Skill discovered: Magic Sensing!**

Unfortunately, Harry didn't get a chance to read the details of his new skills before the professor sat down opposite him. She looked irritated, but not angry. Hopefully the irritation wasn't directed at him.

"Well, I believe I said we would start with the beginning. Is that alright with you, Mr. Potter?" Harry nodded. Running into this new world uninformed was the last thing he wanted to do. "Good. I suppose it began with the rise of You-Know-Who, a Dark wizard so feared that many still flinch at his name today, a decade after the war ended. Nobody knows where he came from or even his real name, only that he revealed himself as Lord Voldemort in the early 1970s and that he had been building support for his cause for at least two decades prior.

"His support is made up of pureblood supremacists, those who believe that wizards and witches with 'pure blood,' meaning magical ancestors for at least five generations, were superior to those with muggle heritage in their recent ancestry. They especially hate the muggleborn, those with two muggle parents but were born with magic, and believe them to be of dirty blood. 'Mudblood' is the name they came up with for these people, and don't ask me to repeat it again, and it is used to degrade those they feel are inferior.

"By 1980, when you were born, You-Know-Who had almost taken over. The Ministry of Magic, the government in the Magical world, had been infiltrated and many positions were filled by his followers. The leading candidate for Minister of Magic was a known Death Eater, the name given to the followers of You-Know-Who, and this would have all but ended the war, and not in our favor.

"Suddenly though, in the spring of 1980 about a week before the election for Minister, the pressure eased. Death Eater raids of towns and villages didn't stop, but their frequency was cut in half. The Death Eater candidate lost votes as members of the Wizengamot felt less fear, enough to sway their votes. Captured Death Eaters revealed that You-Know-Who had his attention focused elsewhere, although where we still aren't sure.

"In the next year, things got a little better. Millicent Bagnold was voted into office, loved by many for her strong hand in punishing the Death Eaters. She was one of the youngest Ministers to be elected, at only 20, but we captured more Death Eaters in that year than we had in the last five. We certainly hadn't won the war, but the hope that we _could_ win was slowly returning."

She shook her head sadly. "It was October 31, 1981 that things finally began ending for the better. Your parents had gone into hiding under Dumbledore's advice, using a special method known as the Fidelius Charm. It requires trust, as only one person can reveal the secret, in this case, where they lived. The person is known as the secret-keeper, and your parents chose Sirius Black.

"Unfortunately, it had turned out that Black had been spying for You-Know-Who, and he went straight to him with the secret. Two weeks after the Fidelius had been cast, You-Know-Who showed up at your home in Godric's Hollow. Your father put up a good fight as far as we can tell, if the numerous scorch marks on both ends of the hallway and blood seemingly belonging to You-Know-Who were any indication. Your mother tried to protect you, but You-Know-Who struck her down as well.

"Finally, he got to you. He cast a curse at you that was supposedly a death sentence, it was impossible to survive. But you did. Somehow, the curse rebounded and struck You-Know-Who, killing him, and leaving the Death Eaters leaderless.

"It didn't take much longer for the war to come to an official end, the Death Eaters put on trial, and peace to return. People celebrated the end of the bloodloss, but also you, Harry, for bringing about the end of the war. They call you the Boy-Who-Lived, and there are books about you, dolls with your face on them, you're a hero to the wizarding world as a whole."

Harry was stunned into silence. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't that. He had assumed that there was a wizarding world, of course (although it was nice to have his suspicions confirmed) but what he had _not_ been expecting was to be a hero to a world he had just learned existed all of seven seconds ago for ending a war that he couldn't even remember.

The professor chuckled as she obviously saw the incredulous look on his face. "Yes, Mr. Potter, you are in fact famous. Don't let it get to your head." He glanced up to see she looked a lot more cheery than when she had finished the story, but not any less strict. She continued, "Now, do you have any questions?"

Of course, Harry had about a thousand crossing through his mind at that moment, but thankfully for McGonagall, decided to restrain himself from asking almost all of them. Most of them related to the Potter heirlooms anyway, and he wasn't quite ready to reveal them yet.

"Well, I do have one. What is that stick you used to fix my elbow, and that everyone seems to carry around here?"

She didn't look as surprised as Harry expected. "This 'stick' as you called it, is a wand. It's what all witches and wizards need to perform magic."

"Oh. Thank you ma'am, that was my only question."

"Alright then, Mr. Potter. Let's get going to the bank, and then we can purchase your school items. You should also get used to calling me 'professor' or 'Professor McGonagall,' as 'ma'am' will lose you points when we're at Hogwarts."

The pair got up and headed for the backdoor, leading to the alleyway behind the establishment. Harry was a bit confused as to where she thought they were going to go from there, but ignored that for now. "Points, professor?"

Professor McGonagall grimaced at that. "Yes, Mr. Potter. There are four houses at Hogwarts that you may be sorted into, and don't ask me how you get sorted, because I can't tell you. They are Hufflepuff, for the loyal and hardworking, Ravenclaw for the clever and wise, Gryffindor the courageous and daring, and Slytherin, the cunning and ambitious. When you break the rules, you will gain points for your house, and when you exhibit exemplary behavior, you will gain them. The house with the most points at the end of the year gets the House Cup. It is supposed to be a friendly competition, but in recent years it has gotten a little.. out of hand, shall we say."

Harry wasn't sure what she meant by "out of hand" but it didn't sound good, and he made note of it, planning to do something to try and fix the situation. Sure, he was only 11 years old, but the heirlooms he had were, according to Nick, supposed to give him "unimaginable power," and what better way to use it than to bring people together?

Regardless, Harry's attention was dragged back to the alley as he and Professor McGonagall were approaching a brick wall, one that didn't seem to lead anywhere. However, Harry could feel the air becoming increasingly energetic as he got closer, presumably from his Magic Sensing skill that he had glanced over earlier.

The professor was poking the wall with her wand, and Harry took the chance to check the details of his new skills. He once again glanced down at his forearm, as he hadn't dismissed the notifications the last time he checked.

**Skill discovered: Mind Altering Spell Detection!**

**The ability to detect the use of mind altering spells, excluding legilimency. These include Confundus and Obliviate. This is a passive skill, and does not require Mana to work. **

**At this point, you can only detect that a spell has been used on you.**

**Skill discovered: Magic Sensing!**

**The ability to sense magic around you, from wards to spells, and, with training, the ability to differentiate between wards and spells. Currently, you can only detect ambient magic.**

Harry thought that those both sounded very useful, even if he didn't recognize half of what they were saying. He got the premise, and that was enough to make him appreciate the skills. He didn't want anything to alter his mind, and while he could only guess what spells and wards were, being able to sense them only sounded beneficial.

When Harry finally looked back up, he found Professor McGonagall stepping back after tapping one last brick, and watched as the bricks slid and scraped out of the way, forming a massive archway. The pair walked through, and he was captivated as he realized why there seemed to be so much magic surrounding the wall.

Shops lined the alleyway, marked as "Diagon Alley" by the sign to the right of the entrance, selling everything from wands to cauldrons. Owls were flying in and out of most buildings, letters clutched in their claws. Witches and wizards dressed in stereotypical fantasy clothing bustled about on their errands, many trying to rein in their errant kids.

Harry was so captivated, in fact, that the professor had to grab a nearby newspaper and thwack him on the back of the head with it to gain his attention, although she looked apologetic and had a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Every year I forget how amazed kids are when they get their first look at the alley. Unfortunately, I am on a tight schedule, so we'd best get going."

Following the professor, it wasn't long before a massive marble structure made its way into view. Before they got close though, Professor McGonagall whispered a warning into his ear. "The bank is run by goblins, and you would be wise never to cross one. Try not to speak too much today, and if you do have to, be polite, as they will hold a grudge until you die." With that, they continued their approach to the building.

As they got close to the bank, he felt his watch vibrate again, and glanced down to check it for the thousandth time that day.

**Skill level increased: Magic Sensing!**

**LVL 2 (0%)**

**The ability to sense magic around you, from wards to spells, and, with training, the ability to differentiate between wards and spells. Currently, you can detect ambient magic and wards.**

Well he could sense wards now, which sounded very useful even if he still wasn't sure what they did.

Finally making it to the doors of the bank, Harry took note of the warning inscribed on the front of the structure.

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn,_

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Harry quickly decided not to mess with whoever ran the bank, as it seemed like they weren't ones to give second chances. With that in mind, he followed the professor as they approached one of the tellers.

Professor McGonagall slid a small key to the goblin at the station. "We need to access the Potter trust vault."

The goblin paused as he briefly examined the key, turning it over and staring intently at it for what seemed like ages. "Alright, one moment." His eyes glanced around the area, obviously looking for someone or something. Spotting what he was looking for, he called, "Griphook! Can you take these two to the Potter trust? Here's the key."

Griphook took the key and waved for the pair to follow him. They approached a cart, and the goblin told them to get in the seat behind him. The cart began moving slowly, but quickly built up speed. Thankfully it wasn't too long of a ride before they reached their destination, as Harry was pretty sure his stomach wouldn't have lasted much longer.

As they got out of the cart, the goblin inserted the key into the vault, opening the door wide enough for Harry to walk inside. His mouth dropped as he saw the piles of gold, sliver, and bronze contained inside.

After learning that they were galleons, sickles, and knuts respectively, Harry grabbed several handfuls of galleons and put them in the pouch the professor had provided for him. Once that was done, they once again boarded the cart, but this time went in the other direction. Soon after, they had returned to the surface, with Harry being much, much wealthier.

As they exited the building, the professor began telling Harry what he needed to get in terms of supplies. "Alright Mr. Potter, let's get your robes first, so you don't stick out quite so much, and then we can get the rest of your supplies. Here is the full list if you would like to look it over." She handed Harry an envelope before leading them towards a purple building with the words "Madam Malkin's" in a flowy font printed on above the display area.

Harry entered alone, Professor McGonagall leaving to run some errands, and hesitantly asked the woman working for the set of school robes. She jumped up to help him, and led him next to another boy, who looked to be shaking uncontrollably, for measurements.

Thinking that some small talk might calm the boy, Harry spoke, which made him jump slightly. "So, you going to Hogwarts, too?"

The boy quickly collected himself, or at least attempted to. "Er.. maybe. My grandmother.. my grandmother still thinks I could be a.. a.. squib."

"A squib? I haven't heard of that before?"

"Oh, you must be muggleborn then. It's someone with two magical parents born without.. without _magic_."

"I'm not muggleborn, but I was muggle-raised. Anyways, you couldn't be a squib, could you? I doubt they would send you an invitation to a school that teaches magic if you weren't able to even do magic." The clerk finished her measurements and left, Harry assumed to go get his robes.

Looking slightly relieved, the boy, who Harry still didn't know that name of, changed the topic. "I guess you're right. What house do you think you'll be in? I'm hoping for Gryffindor, but with my luck I'll be stuck in Hufflepuff."

Harry had a confused look on his face as he answered, "And what's wrong with Hufflepuff? All I've heard of it was that it was the house of the loyal and the hard-working, and that sounds pretty good to me."

"Oh. Everyone says it's the house that takes the ones who don't fit into any of the houses."

Harry was about to respond, he was cut off by the woman helping the other boy coming back with his robes, and another woman, Harry assumed it was the boy's grandmother, sternly led him out of the store. Harry's robes followed not long after, and he left the shop, once he had changed into a set of his new robes, to find Professor McGonagall holding a caged white owl that looked happy to see him.

The professor held the cage out to him, obviously meaning for Harry to take it. Harry looked surprised. "Is this for me, professor?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. An owl will be very useful in life, and I owe it to James and Lily since they aren't here to get it for you themselves."

Harry fought down the lump in his throat as he took the cage, having never gotten a gift before, excluding the heirlooms that were his anyway. The owl nipped at him through the cage bar, and the second he met her eyes he felt some sort of bond form, thought he wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or reality.

Letting the owl out of her cage, Harry watched as she fluttered up and perched in his shoulder. Professor McGonagall just cocked an eyebrow at this, looking mildly amused. "I see that you two are already getting along. Now I believe we have other things to purchase, so come along."

The professor led Harry and his new friend to several shops to buy things like a cauldron, potions supplies, and a trunk before they finally only had two stops left. He needed school books and a wand.

They made their way to Flourish and Blotts, which Professor McGonagall had called the bookstore, and slipped in the open door. While the professor was distracted looking for a personal book, Harry quickly picked up his course books. However, he couldn't help but skim some of the titles as he perused the aisles.

There were several different branches of magic that were presented in the rows, each one that might possibly be a skill he could learn. Sure, he couldn't be certain it was a skill until he began to learn it, but if each _was_ a skill, he could probably end up at the top of several fields. He was already famous, but this would make him famous for something he actually did. It was an amazing thought.

Harry ended up grabbing three extra books that gave the basics in three branches, enchanting, arithmancy, and ancient runes, and added them to his load. He also grabbed _The Standard Book of Spells,Grade 2_, before the professor gave him a look that told him it was time to go.

The pair left the store after Harry paid for the books, and headed for Ollivander's for a wand. The interior was poorly lit, seemingly only having a small lamp for the front of the shop, and had an eerie feel to it.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. I thought I would see you here soon."

Harry jumped at the voice, which had sounded from behind him. "Er.. yes, I need a wand." He noticed Professor McGonagall was looking entirely too amused at that moment, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

The wandmaker made his way behind the counter and began speaking, although he seemed to be talking to himself. "Of course he does, every wizard needs a wand. But which will fit him best? Maybe.. ah, blackthorn and unicorn hair, perhaps?" Ollivander handed him a box, and Harry took the wand out, not sure what he was supposed to do, until the man practically shouted, "Give it a wave!"

Doing just that, Harry had to duck, and his owl had to launch off his shoulder, as several of the boxes shot off the shelves and towards him. Ollivander snatched the wand back, disappointed. "Nope! Not that one, obviously. Cedar and dragon heartstring?"

As he was being handed another wand, Harry grabbed it and waved it once again. This time, nothing tried to knock him over, but, in fact, there wasn't a reaction at all. Ollivander took this one from him too, although he was much less rough with it that time, and gave him another.

Wand after wand after wand was tried, but with no luck. Every single one was inevitably taken by the wandmaker, and the shop was in shambles by the time Ollivander finally chose the right one.

"Hmm, possibly. Cedar and phoenix feather, 11 ½ inches."

Harry took this one and waved it cautiously, not wanting more injury caused to the store. However, he was pleasantly surprised when yellow sparks shot out of the end of the wand, rather than breaking something, and warmth raced down his arm into his torso, and Ollivander looked both happy and relieved. "Ah, I think we have found a match. Now you'd best be going so I can repair my storefront before the next customer."

With that, Harry and Professor McGonagall left and made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. Once inside the pub, though, the professor sat them down at another table, and she looked like she had something to say, but was hesitant to say it.

"Mr. Potter, would I be correct in saying you do not want to go back to your relatives?"

"Er.. yes, professor. They probably don't want me back anyways."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "Well, I may have a place for you to stay for the remaining month before term begins, and I think it will be significantly better than the Dursleys'. It is with a woman who will be one of your professors, so she will likely be busy most of the day, but she will at least be able to prevent you from doing something stupid. Would you be alright with that?"

Thinking that it sounded way better than what he experienced with his relatives, Harry quickly agreed. The professor apparated them out to a one storey house that was seemed to be isolated in a forest, with a sizable garden visible from the front. As they approached the door, Harry felt some sort of barrier that let him through, which he assumed were the wards, since his magic sensing skill had just increased. The professor knocked on the door, and a cheerful looking woman answered the door.

"Oh it's you, Minerva! You scared me half to death, you know I never get visitors during the summer! I thought someone was going to be delivering me terrible news, or robbing me!" Her eyes widened as she saw Harry. "And who's this?"

"Hello to you too, Pomona, though I will say someone stealing from you is unlikely to knock. This is Harry Potter," Harry noticed her eyes widened more, but she thankfully didn't say anything, "and he and his previous guardians are.. unfit to care for him. Would it be too much trouble for you to take him in until the beginning of the term? We will make arrangements during the year for next summer, but we don't have enough time right now, and he needs a place to stay."

"I would love to! Where are his belongings, I can have Daisy pop them up to the spare room and fix the place up for him."

Professor McGonagall looked relieved, and pointed to his trunk. There was a pop and a moment where a figure seemed visible holding the trunk, and then another pop and it was gone. "Thank you, Pomona. I wasn't sure what I was going to do if I couldn't find him a suitable place to live." She paused. "Also, could I trouble you not to tell Albus about this? He might try to send Harry back to his guardians and they aren't exactly.. caring."

The professor turned to Harry, looking more stern than when she had been talking to the other woman. "Alright Harry, you're staying here for the next month. While I am not your mother, I would recommend you stay on your best behavior, as Pomona, or as you'll know her as, Professor Sprout, is a professor and can easily discipline you. Now, I need to get going, but if you have any questions you can always ask Professor Sprout, she's a competent witch, I assure you." She turned back to Professor Sprout. "Goodbye, Pomona, I'll see you once term begins. Take care of Mr. Potter for me."

Professor McGonagall turned and apparated away, leaving Harry with Professor Sprout. "Okay, Harry, you can come on inside. Your room is down that hallway, second room to the right. I'm sure you're exhausted from your long day, so you may go ahead and rest. We can talk in the morning."

Realizing how tired he was, Harry did just that, and followed Professor Sprout's directions to his new room. It was much larger than the cupboard he had had previously, thankfully, and his trunk was tucked in the corner. His owl's cage was on a stool next to the trunk, and she flew off his shoulder and rested in the cage.

Harry didn't even bother to take off his new robes as he lied down. Right as he was falling asleep he realized he had never gotten the chance to experiment with the Potter heirlooms, but he supposed it could wait until tomorrow. For now, it was time to relax and sleep.

* * *

_As a side note I also have begun posting this on AO3 under the same name if you prefer that site over this one. _


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